Terminator Genisys is a 2015 American science fiction film directed by Alan Taylor and written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier. The fifth installment in the Terminator franchise, it serves as a soft reboot to the film series, using the plot element of time travel to erase the events of the previous films of the franchise from the series’ continuity. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, who reprises his role as the eponymous character, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney and J. K. Simmons. The plot follows soldier Kyle Reese in the war against Skynet; Kyle is sent from the year 2029 to 1984 by John Connor, leader of the Human Resistance, to protect Connor’s mother Sarah. When Kyle arrives in the past, he discovers that the timeline has been altered and Sarah has been raised by a reprogrammed Terminator.
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THE MOVIE:
As the movie starts we are thrust into the ‘Future War’ with “John Connor’s rebellion” fighting the machines and “Skynet”. It’s at this point that the rebellion take down “Skynet” completely, but not before they send a Terminator back through time to kill “Sarah Connor”. This is where the movie pretty much starts and then takes it’s alternate timeline to what we have seen in the past. Without wanting to delve too much into the storyline for fear of spoiling it for anyone. However, I do want to touch upon the MAJOR twist that was revealed in the trailers. IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN ANY TRAILERS AND ARE GOING IN BLIND DO NOT READ THIS NEXT BIT – “John Connor” is not who he seems in this new timeline and is now part-man, part-machine. To this day I do not know why the film makers decided to reveal this in the trailers. It would have made such an impact on screen watching the T-800 finally ‘killing’ “John Connor”, completing the original mission all along, for him to only get back up again showing that he’s been taken over by the machines. It would have been a jaw dropping moment to see this for the first time during the theatre, rather than being forced in your face during all of the later trailers ahead of the movie’s release.
One of my main concerns with the movie was its casting. I have to admit however that whilst I wasn’t too keen on Jason Clarke as “John” he just didn’t seem as believeable as say the likes of Robert Patrick as the T-1000 or even Kristina Loken as the T-X, both Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney do a decent turn in their roles. Don’t get me wrong, they are not a patch on either Linda Hamilton or Michael Biehn, but everyone knew they wouldn’t be. They aren’t going to win any awards or anything, but they are convincing enough. J K Simmons is great in a small supporting role but Byung-hun Lee was absolutely wasted, which was a huge shame. There is also a blink and you will miss it cameo from Matt Smith who, if the sequels get made, will feature a more prominent role no doubt. Arnold on the other hand, really was the stand out here. You could tell he was loving every minute making this movie. Admittedly there is not much ‘acting’ involved to play the T-800 but just seeing him back doing what he does best was just superb.
VIDEO QUALITY:
TERMINATOR GENISYS arrives on Ultra HD Blu-ray 4K in vibrant bliss. Dolby Vision really helps this stand out and give more depth to the dark scenes and still allow the film to feel rugged at times. The film was already good in the VQ/AQ department for the blu-ray and this just amplifies it a bit more. Nothing to complain about in the video quality area then the other small previous blu-ray gripes, and if you are a Terminator franchise fan you’ll likely be looking to add this release to your collection anyhow despite it’s lackluster fanfare.
The CGI and effects are very well done, although I did miss some of the practical FX that I was more accustomed too from the original movies, but what was done was handled very well. The cast do a decent enough job to help the movie along, and Arnold really is the stand out star throughout the movie, showing there is still plenty of ‘movie life’ left in him; to quote him from the film “Old, but not obsolete”.
AUDIO QUALITY:
The TERMINATOR franchise has always been known to be loud and in your face with explosions and everything in between. This is one area that TERMINATOR GENISYS does not disappoint. We are greeted with a bangin’ Dolby Atmos track on both the blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray 4K disc. The special features are in Dolby Digital.
SUPPLEMENTS:
TERMINATOR GENISYS special features are on the 3rd disc (blu-ray) and are that of the previous Blu-ray release.
*Reset the Future: Constructing Terminator Genisys
*Battle on the Bridge: Multi-Angle Scene Breakdown.
Digital Copy is included
All three discs are housed in traditional 4k black amaray with a glossy slip cover.
The film was released by Paramount Pictures on July 1, 2015, in standard digital format, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D. Terminator Genisys was not well-received by critics, who found the story and performances unsatisfactory, although Schwarzenegger’s return to the franchise was praised. It grossed over $440 million worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing film of the franchise and Schwarzenegger’s career behind Terminator 2: Judgment Day. – wikipedia
